Combination
Mid Fade + Textured Crop
The fade lengthens, the forward crop shortens, and the two roughly cancel — which is why this works on more face shapes than anything else with a mid fade in it. It is the version of the low-taper crop for people who want more contrast.
Cut lives at guard 0-1
- Guard range
- 0-1
- Chair time
- 40-50m
- Back in
- 2-3 wks
- Instrument
- Clipper + scissors
Two decisions, not one.
Sides
Mid Fade
The gradient begins around the temple, halfway between a low and a high fade. It gives more contrast than a low fade without the severity of a high one, and it is the safest place to start if you have never had a fade.
Full mid fade pageTop
Textured Crop
A crop with the weight broken up through the top so it sits in separated pieces rather than one solid mass. Reads as effortless, requires the least product of anything in the textured category.
Full textured crop pageAsk for it like this.
Two decisions means two sets of instructions, and the third sentence is usually the one that decides whether they meet in the middle.
- Ask for a mid fade level with the temple, blending to a 0 or 1 at the bottom.
- Say the top is a textured crop pushed forward, with the fringe kept blunt at the edge but textured through the body.
- Ask for a hard line at the fringe if you want it sharp, or a soft one if you do not.
The failure mode.
Every pairing has one specific way it goes wrong, and it is almost always at the join between the two halves rather than in either one of them.
The join between a mid fade and a short crop is where bad blending shows. Check the temple area in the mirror before you leave.